The present invention relates to plant tags and particularly to polymeric tags which can be lockably inserted into a plant pot.
There exists numerous plant tags or stakes made of polymeric material which include a body carrying either a photograph of a plant and/or plant care instructions for the plants with which the tags are employed. Such tags typically include a body and an integral tapered leg extending from the body for insertion of the tag into the plant soil. One such plant tag is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,410.
Recently, plants have been sold at retail in relatively thin polymeric pots which include a rim with slots for receiving plant tags directly in the pot as opposed to the soil. Tags used with such pots typically include notches along opposite edges of the extending legs of the tag, such as disclosed in Australian Patent No. AU-B-52911/90, PCT Publication WO 93/17412, and in FIG. 4B of U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,107. These designs more securely attach the tag to the pot, minimizing the loss of the tag from an associated plant when being moved by either retail personnel or customers when making a selection for purchasing. Although these tags successfully lock the tag to the pot due to their design, they are somewhat difficult to insert as well as remove when desired. An improved locking tag is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,375. This tag includes a trapezoidal deflectable tab in the center of the leg which allows lockable insertion of the tag into a slot within a pot rim and also helps anchor the tag within the soil around a plant. Although such tag represents an improvement to existing locking tags, it is somewhat more expensive due to the forming of the deflectable locking tab.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a plant tag which can be lockably inserted into the slot of a plant pot relatively easily and which, although securely held within the pot, can also be easily removed by the purchaser when the plant is taken home.